Michael Diver

The timing isn’t right but I kind of wish I were joining you. I should read Middlemarch too. Overdue.

At 11:36 pm Central The NY Times sent out an email with the subject line Breaking news: The Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series.

Bucky fucking Dent.

If he’d ever expand his fandom beyond the White Sox, surely it would be to support the Padres and the Cardinals.

I had to leave to catch a train, about 20 minutes into the second half. How close did Barca come to scoring a second goal?

Des Moines. Flip sides.

I think you’d get a real kick out of my tweets from that game, which started when the Cards were down, 6-0, I believe. Maybe I’ll go find them sometime. I’ve taken Twitter off my phone but my account still exists.

Some night that was. Funny to think it was Waino whom the Nats lit up.

That was…interesting.

Meanwhile Harrison Bader is biding his time. #exSTLCards

I haven’t followed through on my thought of doing a thread of #exSTLCards in the postseason. Edman and Kittredge were excellent yesterday. Kittredge not so great today. Jack Flaherty with a huge start tomorrow.

I generally root for all the exes.

I’ve always been very curious who the Astros offered for him last offseason. Deal was in place and then Arenado vetoed it (his right), even though Houston was on his (short) list of teams he’d accept a trade to.

It’s been a strange year in St Louis and that non-trade was part of it.

This may be slightly hyperbolic, but given the astounding collapse maybe only slightly: the fraying hopes of the Tigers’ season largely rest tonight on the right arm of…Jack Flaherty.

#exSTLCards

Let’s play 162 games to determine, among other things, which average team can sneak into the playoffs.

“Thoroughly unearned?” I can’t believe I’m taking the bait. But I have to think the many years of 3 million plus attendance in a small market ought to garner respect.

(That said, as a member of the family, I’m allowed to call Cards fans spoiled and entitled this year for their epic pouting.)

Right. I just didn’t know if the league champs played each other. I think Triple-A used to do that?

Thanks, JJ.

Well it used to be.

Is there another round after this one?

Truly. Truly!

I also like to think ’06 was just deserts for the great teams of ‘04 and ‘05.

I have since learned that it has happened previously, several times. It’s not at all common, no surprise, but it has happened.

One division winner with a negative regular season run differential went on to win the World Series: the 1987 Twins. As if that World Series didn’t already hurt enough.

Even if you were to subscribe to P+ you would only get occasional Brentford games. I’m lucky to see a fifth of Portsmouth’s games.

They’d probably show Brentford more often than that but it would still be hit and miss. Following the Championship is not like following the EPL on NBC/Peacock.

Has a team ever won a division with a negative run differential? Guardians are still –5.

More than decent chance they’ll end up positive, especially if they win enough games to take the division.

Lord. Just got home from watching our local AAA team. (Austin Gomber pitched!)

I can only imagine.

I’ve changed quite a bit. I haven’t searched for all the people and organizations I followed on Twitter. I’m way, WAY less political on Bluesky. I can’t bear the current state of affairs and am not interested in wallowing in it on social media. In general I post way less too.

I saw only a silent cellphone video at the NYTimes that cut off before things got graphic. But I saw this exchange reported (quoting from memory): “How many mass shootings have been committed by trans people?” Kirk: “Too many.” Questioner was challenging or intending to challenge that assertion.

Who the fuck is “they”? One deranged young man shot Charlie Kirk. I’m goddamn angry over the framing of his murder as an execution by the Left.

Don’t even get me started on inflammatory rhetoric being the root cause. Has anyone heard the way TRUMP and his ilk talk about their opponents?

Yes and no. The film probably leans toward yes, but it portrays a reasonable number of his flaws and eccentricities.

Years ago I worked for a man who was an aide to an Army general in WW2. He said Patton had a high-pitched, even whiny voice. Didn’t sound a thing like George C. Scott.

But Riley O’Brien just lightened your load.

I love Herrera. It’s impossible to conjecture what he was thinking. He seemed to clearly understand there was only one out after his first blunder.

I really enjoyed the guest piece on Muswell Hillbillies, one of my favorite albums, and my favorite from one of my very favorite bands.

Thank you!

I finally got off my ass and subscribed. It will be a good buy. I love baseball and have followed Brentford for a while (since the BMW line days), although my true-blue English team is Portsmouth.

Baseball is the real draw.

Now I need to go back and find the newsletter with Muswell Hillbillies.